Pay Compression Checker
Pick a manager role and the role they manage. See the gap the market pays between them, which way it is moving, and whether your own pair is keeping pace.
Pay compression starts when the market for a report role moves faster than pay for the manager above it, or when new reports are hired at market while incumbents and their managers lag. This checker reads the gap from BLS data for your location, shows whether the two pay ranges overlap, and compares how each role's national median moved between the last two BLS releases. Add your own pay figures and each person is placed on their own role's market curve, which is a fairer test than comparing your team with the gap between all managers and all specialists.
Wage percentiles from BLS OEWS May 2025, with May 2024 national medians for the direction of travel. A screening tool, not a pay decision. Free to use, no account required.
Pay Compression Checker
How far apart the market pays a manager and the people they manage, which way that gap is moving, and whether your own team keeps pace.
Common questions
What is pay compression?
Pay compression is when the pay gap between a manager and the people they manage, or between new hires and experienced staff, narrows until it no longer reflects the difference in the job or experience. It usually shows up first when the market for the report role rises faster than pay for the manager role.
How does this checker judge my team?
It places the manager on the market curve for the manager's role and the report on the curve for the report's role. If the report sits 15 or more percentile points further up their market than the manager does, the pair reads as compressed; 5 to 14 points reads as tightening.
Why not just compare my ratio with the market ratio?
The market ratio compares all managers with all specialists, which is often close to 2x. A real manager's premium over their own team is much smaller, so that comparison would flag almost everyone. Market position is a fairer test.